When you have been injured due to another person’s actions, you can pursue a personal injury claim against them. This is a legal case in which you claim another person is responsible for your damages and compel them to pay a fair settlement. Insurance exists to cushion the blow by covering the damages to you or the other driver.
When you are at fault for the accident, your insurance should pay at least some of the other person’s expenses. When they are at fault, your insurance should help you, and their provider should do the same. This is why having an active insurance policy is important, and even required, for every driver. Unfortunately, insurance disputes are far more common than you might have expected.
How Does Insurance Work?
To use your insurance policy, you must report the car accident to your provider. They will have an adjuster review the facts of your claim, deciding whether or not you are actually in need of the requested funds. If your insurance claim is approved, they will send you the cash you need to cover your damages.
You must gather as much evidence from the accident scene as possible for your claim to succeed. Whether you were injured in a car accident, a slip-and-fall, or any other types of personal injury claims, you should have proof to back up your claim. If there were any recordings or eyewitnesses, try to ensure you can access them by requesting contact information and noting intersections that may have caught the accident on video.
Insurance Laws in Montana
Under Montana Code Annotated (MCA) Section 27-1-701, for a successful personal injury claim, the victim must prove that the accused party was liable for the damages. Liability means they were responsible for the damage and thus should be responsible for paying it off. While liability is easy to prove in certain situations, like a simple car crash, it can be quite complex in other cases, especially if you are found partly at fault under MCA Section 27-1-702.
Oftentimes, the amount you can receive from a personal injury claim is tied to the amount of the at-fault driver’s coverage. If your damages exceed their policy limit, you may rely on your insurance coverage for the rest. Generally, ensuring you have a robust insurance policy to fall back on or at least meet the minimum requirements under MCA Section 61-6-103 is smart.
What If I Do Not Have Enough Coverage?
If you were at fault and your policy does not cover the full extent of injuries, you may be responsible for paying the rest of your costs and the victim’s damages out of your pocket. Depending on the extent of the damages, that could be a significant sum of money. You may want to review your insurance policy and ensure you have a plan to keep you out of these situations.
In some cases, more than one party may be responsible for the incident. If you can identify more than one liable party, you can also seek compensation from them. This is an effective way to increase the amount of compensation you receive.
How to Get Coverage
If you are a Montana resident without some measure of accident insurance coverage, you should consider remedying that as quickly as you can. Accidents are always a possibility, no matter how careful you are. If you are caught in a situation like this without insurance, it could shackle you with steep debts that affect your life for a long time.
You can review your insurance provider options in Montana and find the right company. An agent will happily talk you through the possible plans so you can get set up quickly. While it may not seem necessary now, you may quickly find yourself in need.